Musical instruments reflect and galvanise the cultures in which they
evolve, and most have diverged into families. The core of the Symphony Orchestra is the
violin family: violin, viola, violoncello and bass. The other family of bowed instruments
contemporary with the first violins was the viol family, a courtly ensemble now featuring
in early music performance. Lutes came in a range of sizes and pitches, and they inspired
a colourful array of Renaissance composition.

Brass instruments range from the cornet, through the flugelhorns,
trumpets and trombones to the French Horns, Euphoniums and Tubas. Woodwind instruments
appear in the orchestra as a polyglot assembly of clarinets, oboes, cor anglais, and
bassoons. Once there was a family of oons, as there were families of trombones (sackbuts),
shawns, rackets, crumbhorns, recorders and other wonderful wind instruments. Even flutes
range from piccolo to bass, and more recently saxophones and clarinets have grown into
families, featuring in jazz performance and modern composition.

Beyond the orchestra and jazz ensembles, folk instruments appear in
families : balalaikas and mandolins with mandolas, tenor mandolins, mandocellos and bass
mandolins, even concertinas and dulcimers are available in different ranges.

The piano does not exist in a family, probably because its keyboard
covers the register of a family  likewise for the harpsichords and organs.

The most popular musical instrument in the world is the guitar. It
features in every nations folk, jazz, flamenco, blues, rock, pop and classical
musical expressions, but it has not existed in a family. Even though the electric bass
guitar has become almost universal in all musical forms except classical and traditional
jazz, we do not regard the electric bass with other guitars as a family. Some South
American ensembles use the requinto guitar tuned above the standard, but not
as a guitar family member.

The Guitar Family Project

In 1979, I became a full-time luthier (stringed instrument maker) after
an intensive year in Europe studying and researching guitar and violin history, physics,
design and tonality, and the response of the ear-brain system to musical sound. I had made
experimental violins, violas and cellos in 1977 and was beginning to understand why the
traditional violin was probably optimal in its vibrating and sound-generating behaviour as
a bowed instrument.

I envisaged how larger and smaller guitars would respond to the strings
and appeal to the human mind. In 1980, I made a low-pitched folk guitar which was not
successful, but a subsequent baritone classical guitar, tuned a fifth below the standard,
had a genuine classical voice, even with an unconvincing upper range.

In 1982, I travelled to the United States on a Churchill Fellowship to
deliver a paper to the Catgut Acoustical Society entitled "The Guitar Family
 Prospectus". In that year, I also showed the baritone to Tim Kain, head of
the guitar faculty at Canberra School of Music, and himself a renowned performer. When he
established the Canberra Guitar Ensemble in 1984, they incorporated the baritone along
with the standard guitar, and when John Williams visited the Canberra School of Music that
year, he encouraged them to work towards realising the potential of the guitar family.

In 1986, the Canberra Guitar ensemble submitted an application to the
Australia Council under the "Innovative Projects" category, seeking a grant for
me to make a classical bass guitar and a treble (requinto) tuned a fourth above the
standard, so to extend the classical guitar into a full tonally integrated family : bass,
baritone, standard and treble.

These Classical Guitar Family prototypes were finished in 1986, and
after intensive rehearsals by the Canberra Guitar Ensemble at the Canberra School of
Music, the first Guitar Family concert was presented in 1987. It was so popular that a
repeat performance was given later in the day, and from the Canberra Guitar Ensemble grew Guitar Trek, now internationally acclaimed as the Guitar Family Ensemble.

The prototype treble was soon replaced with two new
generation lattice trebles made by Eugene Philp, and I made a lattice baritone in
1996 and a lattice bass in 2001, both now played by Guitar Trek. A baritone guitar was
also purchased by Slava Grigoryan in 2003, with the purpose of enriching the tonality of
the popular guitar ensemble, Saffire.

Guitar orchestras have been gaining momentum in Australia since the year 2000.
Christopher Keane, Tommy Anderson and Richard Charlton have all introduced
guitar family members into their school ensembles. Joanne McClusky
coordinates the Townsville Guitar Orchestra and Anthony Field (a previous
Guitar Trek member) is now recording new arrangements and compositions
for guitar ensembles with a Caldersmith bass, baritone and two trebles.

Further afield in the
Netherlands, another ex Guitar Trek member, Peter
Constant and his partner Marian Schaap, have consolidated and expanded
guitar orchestra performance, incorporating bass and two octaves into
their ensembles as well as their Zoo Duo repertoire.

In 2009, ZOO Duo
expanded their repertoire with the purchase of a Caldersmith Terz (see You
Tube recording below to see the terz used in performance).

Baritone guitar owned by Victorian College of the Arts.

Treble (Requinto) guitars made for Anthony Field at Victorian College of the Arts.

I continue to upgrade and integrate the sound of guitar family
instruments as well as to develop standard new generation guitars, always
reaching for a stronger and richer, sustained classical guitar sound.

The Guitars

Classical BassAs with the orchestral or electric bass, the classical bass is tuned an
octave below the normal guitars four lower strings  EADG. The string length is
88cm and the strings are overspun nylon core manufactured by Hannabach. It can be played
upright on its endpin or in classical guitar position, supported by the endpin. The sound
is strong, sustained and rich, providing a unique bass voice to any mixed ensemble.

Graham and Bass.

The following picture links to a YouTube video that shows Peter Constant (Netherlands) playing
Bourées 1&2 from Bach's cello suite BWV 1010 on a classical bass guitar.

Peter Constant playing Bass.

BaritoneBetween the bass and standard guitar, the baritone is tuned a fifth
below a standard guitar. Its bottom string is therefore an octave below the A string on a
standard guitar. It is played the same as a standard, but the 71cm string length (65cm on
a standard) requires a bit more stretch! The baritone has a particularly attractive sound
for playing slower pieces such as Bachs suites for lute and cello.

Baritone and Octave.

TrebleBometimes known by the South American name, requinto,as
its tuned five semitones (quint) above a normal guitar. However, the acoustics of
the treble are different in that the treble has a big, sweet sound and the requinto has a
short, sharp, mandolin-like sound. String length is 52cm, enabling the treble
to be strung with normal strings. The body is significantly smaller, as is the scale.

Twin treble (requinto) guitars made for Ascham School, Sydney.

More Guitar Family

Here are the latest You Tubes from Holland. The first shows
the power and beauty of the little Caldersmith octave guitar
providing a harpsichord like tinkle-tinkle amidst 108 standard
guitars. The second shows a lovely duet with treble and standard
guitars with the performance augmented by a dancer.

OctaveTuned an octave above a standard, this guitar provides a clear, sweet
descant sound (a lake of small crystals according to Eric Cathan!) Octave
string sets can be purchased on the net. The short scale of 43.5cm is of course close, but
longer than a mandolin.

Graham Playing Octave.

A Rather Large Guitar Family!

This picture shows the 'Duelling Guitars' extravaganza
in May 2008 in Almere, The Netherlands. The Caldersmith bass guitar looks almost
luminous but our two octaves are a little harder to spot up the front left. The
concert combined over 100 players from 3 guitar orchestras: The Netherlands Youth
Guitar Orchestra, Guitarrísimo and Ponticello plus pluckers from the community.
Conductors: Peter Constant from the Z.o.o. guitar duo and Erik Westerhof from
the Groningen Guitar Duo. Some of the performance can be seen on
You Tube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UgxMZ5WqCU

The following images are linked to the YouTube videos of 'Z.o.o.' guitar duo (Peter
Constant & Marion Schaap) playing octave guitar and bass guitar.

Terz on You Tube!

The terz is so named because it is tuned three semitones higher than the modern
classical guitar, tuned to G rather than E. This guitar type was favoured by
composers of the 19th century and is valuable for music such as this You Tube
video of Z.O.O Guitar Duo playing Mertz's Peter Constant's Caldersmith terz
is quite a different instrument from the original terzes - it is designed in
the Grange style using a western red cedar lattice under the top and has a
55cm string length.

The following YouTube clip shows Peter Constant and Marion Schaap playing Mertz
on a Caldersmith 'terz' guitar (tuned up one three semitones G to G)
and Sheridan standard.